The name Dundalk comes from the original Gaelic"Dún Dealgan". In Irish (as Gaelige) the word "Dún" means "fort", "palace" or "stronghold" and the word "Dealgan" or "Dealga" refers to the mythical fort of Dealga, home to a mythical ancient Irishwarrior called Cuchulainn. So many hundred years ago, before the Normans and the English arrived, the town of Dundalk would have been known as "Dún Dealgan". So the name "Dundalk" is really just an anglicised version of "Dún Dealgan".

Got it?

Dundalk = Dún Dealgan = Fort Of Dealgan

However, there some exceptions to this naming convention. For example, if the word "ford" is used in the name of a town like Wexford or Waterford, then that town most probably originated from "Fjord", which would indicate that the name was created by the Vikings, but these are few and far between.

Using the following list, it is then possible to reverse engineer the names of many Irish towns and cities back to their original meanings. The list is not complete, but it will give you an idea of where many Irish place names came from.